Bioenergy and biofuels for the environmental and energy transition through the Net-Zero emissions 2050 scenario

This article is an overview of the National and European ongoing policies for fulfilling of the net-zero emissions scenario. The main trends concerning bioenergy and biofuels are here presented also mentioning the possibility to produce energy from new nuclear technologies in the upcoming 20 years. This paper is the result of studies elaborated by the Research on Energy Systems (RSE), the National Biomass Research Center (CRB)-University of Perugia, and the Pegaso Telematic University. The Research on Energy Systems of Italy (RSE) supports and collaborates with the main working tables established for the planning of the national energy system and contributed in 2016 to the Decarbonization Table established by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, in 2017 to the National Energy Strategy (SEN 2017) and in 2019 to the PNIEC 1.0 (Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan). Furthermore, at European level, RSE contributed in 2020 to the EU Strategy for long-term emission reduction. Since 2020-2021 RSE has participated in the working tables for the definition of the national hydrogen strategy (SNI), in the Interministerial Committee for the ecological transition and in the definition of regional burden sharing. Since 2023, RSE has contributed to the definition of the PNIEC 2.0, released in its latest version in June 2024. The National Research Center on Biomass (CRB) of the University of Perugia is the reference center on biomass and bioenergy and in the last 15 years works with an experimental approach to identify the more proper policy strategies to exploit the biomass potential at a national and international level. The Pegaso Telematic University, and particularly the Department of Engineering, explores the concept of sustainability as one of the milestones of research, operates in the context of the ongoing energy and ecological transition (in particular, bioenergy, biofuels and bioproducts) and investigates the issues of environmental and social impact of the processes and products developed, through the application of environmental and economic sustainability analyses.